The Sixth Fear
by iRiDeScEnT DrReAm
Summary: "Promise you'll grant it?" Tobias asks. "Okay, fine. What is it?" He looks straight into my eyes. "I want to see your fear landscape." Tris and Four journey through Tris's fear landscape. Tris never told Tobias about her sixth fear. What will happen?
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone! _

_So, after I watched Divergent(which was just epic, and I loved it so so much), the idea for this one-shot suddenly came to my mind. This happens one year after Dauntless initiation, and the war never occurred. _

_What if Tris never told Tobias about her sixth fear? What if she showed him instead? This is my take on what could have happened if Tris had let Tobias in her fear landscape. _

_Happy reading!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. _

*Tris POV*

"But it's your birthday!" I protested. "How can you not want presents?"

Tobias shrugs. "Maybe it's because we never got presents in Abnegation. It's alright, Tris. I really don't want anything anyway. I have practically everything I need."

I push myself up to a sitting position. "It is not alright! Everyone deserves presents on their birthday!"

Tobias sighs. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

I shake my head stubbornly.

It was a year after Dauntless initiation, and we were training the new initiates. Today was Saturday, and it was a break for the initiates and us between stages one and two.

Tobias had not even told me it was his birthday. It was Zeke who had let me in on it.

And naturally, I was more than a little annoyed that my _boyfriend_ of all people didn't even tell me about the day he was born.

We were lying on the bed in his apartment, as I had moved in after I became a Dauntless member. It had been a perfectly normal afternoon, but now I was starting to get angry with him.

Rather than blow up, I stand up and start to walk away. Maybe I would find Christina and go shopping; it would take hardly anything to convince Christina to shop.

Before I can go more than a meter, I feel fingers wrap around my wrists, shackling me, pulling me back towards him.

"What do you want?" I snap at him, twisting around so that our arms are crossed in front of us. I ignore the slight twinge of pain that comes from my twisted arm-pain is no stranger to me, as a member of the Dauntless. It's something you get used to.

His dark eyes are slightly amused, although looking thoughtful as always. "Why are you so upset over this?"

I don't normally speak my thoughts, but I do this time. "Because everyone else can give you presents, and you accept them! I've seen it," I accuse him. He accepted the gifts Shauna, Zeke and Uriah gave him. The only one he doesn't want a present from is me. Even Christina and Will got him something.

I can't help feeling that it's because anything I give him would be worthless.

"I see," he says quietly. "Tris, you've already given me you. That's the greatest gift I could have gotten from anyone. I don't want anything else."

A slight blush makes its way on my cheeks but I refuse to acknowledge it. "I still want to give you something. It's the first gift I'll ever get you as your girlfriend."

He considers this for a minute, and then suddenly a smile makes its way onto his face.

I get slightly nervous. Tobias has become more playful and wicked in the time I've known him, and if I'm sure of anything, it's the fact that that look means nothing good.

"Okay," he says, still with that wicked look on his face. "If you really want to give me something, I have an idea. It's the only thing I want."

"What is it?"

"First, promise me that you'll grant it."

"Tell me what it is first."

"No. First you have to promise me," he says seriously.

"Okay, fine! What is it?"

He looks straight into my eyes. "I want to see your fear landscape."

_So, how was it? Should I continue?_

_Please review and tell me what you think. Till next time! _


	2. Chapter 2

_33 reviews for one chapter! Thanks so much guys! _

_Anyways, here's the next chapter, brought by popular demand. Hint: the more you review, the faster you get chapters! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. _

*Tobias POV*

I watch Tris's face.

Her eyes go wide with horror for a minute, and a dismayed expression crosses her face. I didn't want to be right about this, but I am.

Stupid Eric. He's been dropping sly hints ever since the day of Tris's fear landscape. I watched her only through the glass windows, but I remember very clearly that particular part of her fear landscape that had gotten me puzzled.

She wasn't screaming, or crying; she was _laughing. _I had seen many reactions as people went through their fear landscapes, but none as peculiar as hers. _No one _ever laughed when they were doing stage 3.

But even more puzzling was the blush that crept up her cheeks then. I didn't understand what the heck was going on, but the laughter of the Dauntless leaders told me that Tris had faced a very unusual-and apparently funny-fear.

I was pulled back to reality by Tris.

"Isn't there…isn't there anything else you want? What about doing training? We can go get tattoos, or you can throw knives at my head-"

"Tris!" I cut her off loudly. "I am not throwing knives at your head again. You promised that you would grant my wish, and this is it."

She twisted her hands together in front of her nervously, but looked up to meet my eyes. "Please, Tobias?" she pleaded softly, and for a minute I was stunned by the beauty of her eyes.

_Stay firm, idiot. _

I had to see her fear landscape. I needed to know what it was she was hiding from me. We had promised each other-no secrets.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Tris. This is what I want."

*Tris*

I was silent on the walk up to the fear landscape room. Tobias had gone to fetch the serum, and my footsteps sounded oddly loud on the stone floor.

I wrapped my arms around myself, missing the feeling of his hand around my waist.

How was I going to tell him-about _that_?

He had asked sure, but I had bypassed the question, focusing instead on what we were going to do about the Erudite attacking Abnegation.

They had come to an agreement. Now members of every faction were involved in the government, with joint leaders at the head of every faction-Max for Dauntless, Jeanine Matthews for Erudite, Jack Kang for Candor, Johanna Reyes for Amity, and…Marcus for Abnegation.

I felt the hot surge of anger that rushed through me every time I thought of Marcus. I hated him-hated him with a passion. How could he abuse his own son?

That, of course, led me right back to Tobias, who somehow turned into simulation Tobias in my mind.

I remembered what had happened in the simulation, and held back a shudder. I had hoped to break it to my boyfriend gently, but he was just so damn stubborn.

_Don't think about it, Tris. Just let him see for himself. _

"You okay, Tris?"

I break out of my reverie to see Tobias walking towards me, the black box and needle in his hand. I nod quickly, taking the needle and injecting him.

He kissed me on the forehead, and brushes my hair away from my neck. "I love you, you know," he murmurs, injecting me, pushing the serum into my veins.

"I love you too," I say in the last moments before the serum overtakes me. And the words he said before the first simulation comes back to my mind.

_Be brave, Tris. _

_A/N: Please don't kill me! I have planned out the chapters, and it's probably going to be just ten, so about eight more chapters to go! _

_The first fear will appear in the next chapter. The chapters will not be very long but I'll try to make it as long as possible. _

_Please review! Till next time! _


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey everyone!_

_Once again, you've managed to astound me with the huge number of reviews I've gotten. I cannot possible explain to you guys how much I owe you for this. Also, I have done most of the scenes based on the book, not the movie, because the movie portrays it in a more interesting way. _

_Now, it turns out that I am not above selfish self-advertisement (I could never be Abnegation), so I would appreciate it if you guys could check out my modern day story of Tris and Tobias called Just Friends, as well as a new story I will be posting which is basically about the characters of Divergent reading Divergent._

_I would be beyond elated if you guys would read it._

_And now…on to the next chapter. Happy reading! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. _

*Tris POV*

I open my eyes to find myself in the grassy field outside the city. The fence rises up around us, tall and bold and imposing. The sky is an azure blue, and it looks like a perfect day, but I know what will come next.

Tobias stands next to me, the wind blowing through his dark hair. I fall to my knees, and search through the grass to find the gun. "What are you looking for?" I hear Tobias ask, but it's getting hard to hear him. The wind has picked up speed, and my ears register the sound of the cawing crows.

"Easter eggs," I reply sarcastically. "What do you think?"

He says nothing, but drops to his knees beside me, and roots through the mud and grass. I feel the talons grip my shoulder, and fight back the urge to scream.

I look up into the sky, and I find that the crows have gathered in mass numbers, beyond even my capacity to shoot. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

All the times I went into the simulation before, the crows never assembled this fast. I should have found the gun by now, but my hands are empty.

"Tobias!" I yell. "What's going on?"

The birds surround us, pecking at our hair and clothes. I use my hands to shield my face, but I can feel them rip my skin open, making cuts on my hands and arms and clothes.

I scream, as loudly as I can, my fear clouding my brain. Suddenly, I feel someone stand in front of me, pushing me to the ground, and I feel Tobias on top of me. I know what he's doing; he's protecting me from the crows, the way I took the blow for him in his fear landscape the moment Marcus raised the whip to hit him.

It's this fact, that he's ready to sacrifice himself to save me, that clears my head.

The simulation will move on if it registers that my heartbeat is normal. I force myself to pretend that I'm not here, that I'm a million miles away from this field and the crows attacking us.

I hear Tobias's cry of pain, and feel a stabbing pain in my chest. How can I let him do this?

I focus harder. I remember the first time I saw him, and the peculiar shade of blue his eyes were. I remember grasping his hand to pull myself out of the net, and how it enclosed my smaller one, warm and safe.

I remember my mother cutting my hair in Abnegation, slow, and gentle, and quiet. I remember her smiling at me the day of the aptitude test, remember her looking in the mirror and meeting my eyes.

My mother was Dauntless. She must have done this. And I'm her daughter. I have the capability to fight this.

I let my mind wander on, taking me away from the fear landscape.

I remember Caleb helping me with homework at the kitchen table, patient and understanding. I should have known then, I should have realized that he was meant for Erudite.

I remember my father, teaching me how to cut vegetables for the first time when I was eight years old. I remember cutting my finger, and crying at the sight of the blood. I remember him sticking a blue plaster on my thumb and kissing my forehead.

The noises vanish, and I know the simulation has moved on. I breathe a sigh of relief, before I hear the unmistakable sound of rushing water, and feel the cool glass beneath my hands.

I'm in the tank.

_So, I'm really very sorry for leaving you all with a cliffhanger like that! I'll do my best to update soon!_

_Thank you all once again for all the follows, favs and reviews. It really means a lot to me, and I would love it if you guys could keep up the good work. Can we aim at 30 reviews for this chapter? _

_Till next time! _


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey everyone! _

_90 reviews! That's **AMAZING!** Yes, I bolded, italicized, capitalised and underlined it. Just for emphasis. ;) _

_Anyways, after all that, I just couldn't NOT update-that would have been cruel. And I will not do that to you guys. And this is Chapter Four... ;) _

_Happy reading!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent. _

*Tobias POV*

_Not. Good. _

Gritting my teeth, I force myself to focus on Tris. I remember her strong but slight frame, her pale skin, her beautiful blue-grey eyes. I take a deep breath and relax my shoulders. Some of the knots unravel.

Tris slams her hand on the glass, hard, but it doesn't move an inch. "What's this fear about?" I ask her. If we can figure out what it is, we can beat it.

"Strength," she says, her voice strained. "It's about everyone always thinking I'm weak. I have to convince myself I'm strong enough to break the glass."

And then I remember, and a chill travels through me. What did Max say just the day before?

_You have to solve the problem. _

"Tris," I say quietly. "That won't work anymore."

She stops banging on the glass, turns to face me. "What do you mean?"

The water travels up our legs, above our knees.

"They've changed the simulations. To make the simulation move on, you have to solve the problem. That's why you couldn't find the gun to shoot the crows. You were manipulating the simulation."

Tris's eyes lock with mine, and she realizes what I'm saying. "They want everyone to do it the way the Dauntless do," she whispers.

The water surges past my waist.

The tank seems to close in on me. The glass walls enclose me, trapping me in. I push at them with my hands, but I'm not here anymore. I'm a million miles away in another enclosed space, my back aching from the lashes inflicted upon me.

_"Tobias."_

_I back away from him, but he advances towards me. His eyes are dark and glimmer with an emotion I cannot decipher. It cannot be sadness anymore-the man isn't capable of feeling sad for anyone. Not even his own son. _

_"Father. Please. I'm sorry." My voice sounds desperate, even to myself. It's a futile hope. He will never spare me. _

_He shakes his head. "I cannot let you repeat this mistake. You have to learn."_

_The belt curls around his wrist, and I know what will come next. I know it like it's my daily routine, because it is. I know the words he will speak next, and how the belt will move, lashing across my face and back, the blood running along my skin. _

_He takes a step toward me and uncoils the belt. And then he speaks. _

This is for your own good.

_My hands come up over my head to protect myself, and I can feel the lash of the whip as it comes down on my skin, again and again-making marks in my skin, tracing its path as the blood flows. _

_And then I'm screaming, screaming at him to stop, to leave, to let me go…_

"Tobias? Tobias!"

Tris cups my face in her hands, rests her forehead against mine. I feel the water against my chest. Tris looks at me, and I see the glimmer of tears in her beautiful eyes. "Is it him? Was he hurting you?"

"The whip," I mumble. "He was hitting me, and then he threw me in the closet, left me there…"

Tris says nothing but stands on her tiptoes and kisses me. It's a soft kiss, a sweet reassuring one, to let me know I'm not there anymore, that I'm free from him, that I'll never have to see him again.

She brings me back to the present, and I realize that if we don't do something, we're going to drown. I pull away from her, keeping my arm around her waist.

My eyes scan the floor of the tank, and I see the pipe, releasing water into the tank. If we plug up the pipe, the water will stop flowing, I realize. I look at Tris, and I see that she's looking at the pipe too.

Without a word, I shrug off my jacket, and she takes it, diving down to the pipe and stuffing the jacket in, clogging it.

The water stops flowing, and we both sigh in relief. I turn to her, and kiss her head. This was her fear; but she was the one comforting me. She's my anchor, my grounding, and I'll never stop owing her.

I lean down to kiss her.

And that's when I'm ripped away from her.

_So, I'm the kind of wicked person who likes to leave cliffhangers on every chapter. _

_Sorry! _

_Thanks so much for the reviews guys, it means a lot to me. Also, I don't know if you guys know, but there's been a lot of speculation lately about whether Theo and Shailene may be dating! This is like heaven to me; I'm a huge Sheo shipper! _

_What do you guys think? Should they get together? Let me know in the reviews! Let's aim for 115 this time, okay? _

_Till next time! _


	5. Chapter 5

_So…I'm alive. _

_I've been incredibly touched by the insane number of reviews the last chapter garnered, and I just want to let you guys know that, yes, I do read EVERY SINGLE review and PM I get, and it makes me feel so insanely happy. _

_Like, I might as well have ingested some peace serum. ;)_

_Newayz, sorry for the long wait! It's holidays now, so I should be at my computer a lot more often. I also gave you lovelies two fears in this chapter instead of just one like I normally do. I estimate this fic to finish in another five chapters. _

_Happy reading! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent._

* * *

*Tris POV*

The waves pull and push against me as I fight to keep my head above the water. I try to quell the rising panic in me as I search for Tobias. The ocean waves pulled him away from me, and I can't see him anywhere.

Suddenly, I am dashed violently against a jutting rock. It bangs against my hipbone, and I feel the jarring impact in my bones. I wince but hold on to the rock, grasping it like a life vest.

My hair falls over my face, wet and streaming. I brush it away impatiently and scan the ocean. In my moment of scrutiny, my grasp slips and I find myself swept away by the waves again.

I try to think clearly. The ocean was a fear of helplessness, the fear of being out of control. To beat this, I have to regain control again. The only way to do that is to get out of the raging waves.

But I won't go anywhere until I find Tobias.

"Tobias!" I scream as loudly as I can, hoping he will hear me.

"Tris!" I hear a faint reply from somewhere to my right. "Tris!"

I start swimming in that direction, but I'm not making much headway. The sea is too strong for me to fight.

I grit my teeth and refuse to give up. The point of this fear is to teach me to be in control again. I _will _master this. I will reach Tobias.

Before I can swim any further, I am swept right into him. He quickly wraps his arms around me, and pushes my hair out of my face. "Are you okay?" he asks quickly, eyes making a quick inventory of my upper body. "Ye-yes," I stammer, nearly numb from the cold. "W-we n-need to g-get out of here."

"Tris, c-can you swim?"

"Yes. Let's go."

We both kick at the same time, and eventually we make it far enough that there are rocks we can climb up on. I grab the wet, cold rock and hoist myself up, Tobias following after me.

Immediately, the fear landscape moves on.

I'm tied up to a stake, and I know instantly what's going to happen.

Tobias is next to me, tied up as well. He struggles violently against the ropes binding him. "It won't work, Tobias," I say calmly. "They won't break."

He stops. "What happens in this fear, then?"

I don't need to reply because that's when Peter steps from the shadows. The people around him are like a punch in the gut. Christina and Will flank him, their faces showing no mercy at all. I know this isn't them, that it's some hallucinated version of them the simulation has presented, but I can't help believing.

There was a period of time, during initiation, that they did act with apathy toward me.

The next person to step forward is like a knife to the heart.

Caleb smiles maliciously, and his green eyes-so much like my mother-are mocking and sarcastic. This isn't the Abnegation brother I once knew. The brother who played Candor with me at the dining table, who helped me with complicated math problems and cooked dinner with me even if he didn't have to.

Peter sets fire to the stakes bounding each of us. The fire is nothing but a spark at first but as the people assembled before us laugh, it grows bigger, licking my feet.

I scream as the pain sweeps through me. This seems to encourage those around me and the fire gains strength, the smoke threatening to suffocate me.

"Know what that is?" Peter laughs derisively. "That's the smell of a burning Stiff."

My eyes lock on Caleb, nearly pleading, but he's laughing with Christina, both of them facing away from me. "Tris! It's not them!"

I faintly hear Tobias's voice but it sounds so far away-as if it's coming from the end of a very long tunnel. The fire is at my calves now and the pain nearly causes me to black out.

I try to fight, to summon my strength, but it's as if it all seeps away from me at the jeers of the crowd.

"Stupid Stiff!"

"How'd she think she'd ever be Dauntless?"

"Delusional, I suppose."

I close my eyes, ready to resign myself to a painful death.

_I love you. _

The words suddenly flash in my mind, and it's like my mother is here, here next to me, speaking those words in my ear. _I love you, Beatrice._

I open my eyes and look out over the crowd, eyes landing on Peter. I look straight into his green eyes and do the last thing he would expect. I laugh.

The jeers and laughs of the crowd die away and almost instantly, the fire dies down, only at my ankles now. I lean down and stick out my hands, allowing the flamed to eat away at the charred rope.

They fall apart and I step away from the stake. To my right, Four moves away from the stake as well, and his blue eyes are full of an emotion I can't identify.

"How did you do that?" he asks abruptly as the background begins to fade away.

I look away from his eyes. "I've always been underestimated by people. I guess the simulation picked up on that."

"No, how did you manage to defeat the fear? I nearly thought you were just going to let yourself burn."

"I thought that too," I said, suddenly ashamed. "I don't know what happened really. I remembered my mother telling me she loved me, and then it gave me the strength to face Peter."

"Love is a very powerful thing," Tobias murmurs, eyes still fixated on mine.

"And I suppose you would know that, wouldn't you?" I smile, taking his hand.

"You changed me, Tris Prior," Tobias says suddenly. "I was just starting to accept my new situation and suddenly this girl just pops into my life and changes everything. She annoys the hell out of me at times. She's stubborn like you wouldn't believe. Sometimes that smart mouth of hers lands her in deep trouble. And I realize that I can't live with myself if I don't care for her, protect her, love her. I don't know what you did to me _Beatrice_,but I can't not love you for the rest of my life."

I smile and reach up on my toes to loop my arms around his neck. "I think you don't have an option, Four. I'm always going to be around whether you like it or not."

"That doesn't sound like a problem at all," he smiles, and for the moment, everything is perfect.

_Yes, I know the last part is random but it felt perfect to me. And at least I didn't give y'all a cliffhanger! Or maybe I should next time…. *evil grin*_

_Give a gal some love and let me know whatcha think! Please review!_

_Till next time! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys, it's great to know you liked the story. I can't believe we reached 207 followers, like, 207 people are reading this. Holy freaking shit. _

_44Eden444: Don't worry, this story isn't and never will be a lemon so Tris and Four aren't going to get it on. The fear will be faced, but in a different way than you think. _

_SelfDestructin54321: No, I am not dead. Thank you for your concern ;) I just don't have as much time as I need to write, what with school and exams. I'm glad you love the story and I hope you enjoy this. _

_**IMPORTANT**: My penname will be changed to Midnight Dreams by October 19th. Please take note of this if you are reading the story as a guest. _

_Happy reading!_

_Disclaimer: All credit goes to Veronica Roth._

* * *

*Tris POV*

Because it was my life, and nothing could stay perfect for long, the fear landscape lands us in Abnegation. I know exactly where we were and what was going to happen without even looking around; I would be in my bedroom, with faceless zombies trying to attack me.

"Tris?" Tobias says slowly as I stand there with my face buried in his shirt. "I don't mean to rush you, but we're sort of getting attacked by goddamn zombies here."

I laugh and pull away as the banging begins at my window and door. "What's your plan for this one?" Tobias asks, looking around with a slight uneasiness. I know why he's feeling uncomfortable.

All Abnegation bedrooms look the same and this must bring back memories of his own room, places where he must have endured the beatings Marcus inflicted upon him.

"Well, I used to find a gun to shoot the zombies," I sigh, "but it won't work anymore. And I'm not sure what this fear is of, really."

At that moment, the zombies burst in and swarm us. I exchange a look with Tobias and both of us nod. We won't go down without a fight.

We work together as an efficient team, but soon we are overwhelmed. My heart rate keeps increasing violently as adrenaline floods my system. If this continues, we're both going to die in this simulation. We can't defeat the zombies, so I have to calm down. I execute a perfect spinning kick to the knee of a nearby zombie, grab Tobias, and book it for the closet at the side of the room.

We barely make it in time. Tobias has just swung the door shut and locked it with the key when the banging starts. I know the locked door won't keep them out for long.

We look at each other and I notice how hard he's breathing as he clenches his fists tightly. I remember another time, in another closet, when I had comforted him during his fear of claustrophobia. This is my fear but it just as might as well be his.

I reach for him the same time that his hands stretch out. Clasping our fingers together, I focus on nothing but the feel of his hand in mine and keep my eyes trained on his deep blue eyes. He looks at me just as intently and that's how we calm down. The whole world fades away until it's just the two of sitting in the closet, the banging sounds not seeming so loud anymore.

The walls of the closet fade into nothing around us until finally, we're simply sitting on a white floor surrounded by nothing. The simulation has registered my normal heart rate and moved on.

Just as suddenly, my heart starts palpitating because I remember what the next fear is. Closing my eyes, I curse. _Why did I ever agree to this? _

All the reasons why I was so loathe to let him see this rush back to me under the blinding white light. I take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself for the humiliation that is sure to follow.

I open my eyes to find….

The fear landscape room.

Same grey walls. Empty room. No large four-poster bed.

My relief is instantaneous and crashes upon me like the waves of the ocean I had been trapped in a few minutes ago. I have overcome my fear of intimacy. My relief must have shown on my face because Tobias looks at me curiously. "Is the fear simulation over?" he asks.

I frown. There should be one more fear. The fear of me killing my family.

"No…" I trail off uncertainly. "There should be one more fear but maybe I got over it…"

He laughs. "And this is what you were afraid of me seeing? These are normal fears, Tris. I saw way worse than this when I ran the fear simulations."

I decided not to enlighten him to the fact that my fear of intimacy was what I was afraid of him seeing. After all, I've conquered it. But then…why do I feel so nervous?

Tobias rises to his feet and I follow him, frowning as I automatically brush off the dust on my jeans. Something is wrong. I can feel it.

Tobias wraps his arms around me and looks at me intently. "I love you, Tris. You know that don't you?"

"I-" I don't get to finish my sentence before he leans down and kisses me.

My arms go around his neck automatically but something is wrong. Tobias kisses me softly, sweetly but never as if he thinks I'm too weak to handle it. This kiss is rough and possessive and it's not like his kisses at all.

His hands go to the hem of my top and that's when I finally understand what's happening.

_Oh no._

* * *

_So I just left off with a cliffhanger….and I don't want to get killed….is that too much to ask? _

_I know it's really short but I really wanted to do the intimacy fear as a chapter by itself and not push it in with this one. Can we reach 200 reviews? I think we can. Let's reach 200! _

_I'm so happy you never gave up on me and this story and I couldn't ask for more devoted readers. You guys are truly awesome. Just as awesome as Four and Tris. _

_Till next time! _


	7. Chapter 7

_The chapter you've all been waiting for! _

_I can't believe you gave me 215 reviews and I hope you enjoy this, because I'm really nervous about how it turned out. I personally thought it was okay, but I'll let you be the judge of that! _

_I know I'm an evil person; I don't update for like ages, and my chapters are short, and I always leave cliffhangers. I apologize. _

_This scene is based more on the movie than the book. Sorry it's only six pages long, b_

_Happy reading! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent. _

*Tris POV*

There was once, when I was young, that I asked my mother the question that parents very likely dread answering.

_"__Mummy?" _

_"__Yes, Beatrice?" _

_"__How did you have me and Caleb? Did you go to a shop and buy us?" _

_My mother laughed, straightening up from bending down over the laundry basket. "Whatever gave you that idea?" _

_I shrugged my six-year old shoulders, eyes still intently on my mother. "But where do babies come from, Mummy?" _

_My mother stilled and turned to me. "Babies are made out of love, Beatrice," she told me gently. "When a mother and father love each other, God gives them a baby." _

_"__How, Mummy?" _

_My mother smiled. "That's a secret that only God knows, sweetheart."_

_"__Well, hasn't anyone ever asked him?" I demanded in true toddler fashion. _

_My mother pretended to think about that. "No, no one ever has." _

_"__Why not?" I demanded. "When I go to heaven, I'll ask God how he gives us babies." _

_My mother shook her head and sighed, but her eyes were kind. "Tell me the answer when you find out, won't you?" _

In retrospect, she was probably giving her stubborn six year old the best answer she could without scarring her for life but at the time, it was all very confusing. The Erudite part of me refused to accept anything but the full, accurate answer but it was rude to be too nosy. So, I buried my curiosity and helped my mother with the clothes.

At the time, I didn't wonder about my mother's un-Abnegation response to my question. The way she laughed and joked with me. Only now, having learnt that she was once Dauntless, do I understand why she reacted the way she did.

I can't remember when I first learned about reproduction, but I do remember the thought of it frankly terrified the hell out of me. It's no surprise it showed up in my fear landscape.

Tobias – or fake Tobias, at least – is still kissing me. His lips move from my mouth, trail a path down my cheek, my jaw and my neck until it lands on my collarbone, over the tattoo of the three birds. I clench my lips together, forcing back the sounds that threaten to escape my mouth, and push him an arm's length away from me.

"Four," I say as firmly as possible, "stop. This isn't you. I am not going to have sex with you in a simulation."

Yeah, fat lot of help that was.

He pulls me into his arms again, kissing me while gently leading me backwards until my legs hit the end of the bed and we fall onto it. I'm getting distinctly panicked now.

I push harder, but it's like pushing a solid brick wall. "Tobias, stop!" I yell. "Stop!"

He pays no heed to what I'm saying and continues to kiss my neck.

"This isn't you, Four!" I struggle to get up, but he's kept me pinned. His lips capture mine again, and I have to force myself not to melt under his touch like I always do. I manage to tilt my head and break my mouth away from his.

He looks into my eyes. "Aren't you Dauntless, Tris?"

"This _isn't _being Dauntless!" I cry out, frustrated and angry. "Being Dauntless isn't about rushing headlong into things! And for the last time, _you are a simulation!_"

Then I hear it.

"Tris?"

_Oh, for the love of – please tell me that's not…_

It is.

Wonderful. Bloody fantastic.

"Tris, I don't know what the hell is going on, but tell me I'm not seeing myself kiss you – "

"You are," I grumble. "Welcome to my sixth fear. Fear of intimacy."

I manage to get my head out from under 'fake Tobias' to see his face. He looks confused and bewildered. I can't blame him. "You're afraid of…sex?" he asks slowly.

I can't answer because simulation Tobias has started kissing me again. Ready to break from frustration and anger, I bring my knee up hard into his groin.

Bulls-eye.

Simulation Tobias groans from the pain and I shove my elbow into his throat, disarming him, and then push him off me. I jump out of the bed, and back away – into the arms of the real Tobias.

He turns me around to face him. "Okay," he starts. "Help me understand, here. You have a fear of intimacy?"

I nod, knowing that my cheeks are bright pink and I'm blushing like there's no tomorrow.

"And how do we get out of this fear?"

I gesture to the simulation of him helplessly. "I don't know," I admit. "You said yourself that Max has changed the simulation. How do I solve something like this?"

In truth, we both know there's one way to get rid of this fear. But I absolutely point-blank refuse to have sex with my boyfriend in the fear landscape room during a simulation where anyone can walk in and see us.

Not to mention, I'm only seventeen.

"Tris, why do you have this fear?" Tobias asks me. "Think. It can help us."

I take his advice. I wonder why I'm so terrified of sex. My mother already indirectly told me that sex was an act of love between two people. I love Tobias. I know I do.

Then why am I so terrified?

It takes me a few minutes to place it and then I realize.

"Vulnerability," I say out loud. To have sex with a person, it's necessary to trust them completely. Should I ever have sex with Tobias, it would be to give myself to him.

I hate feeling powerless and unable to help. I need to know that I am in control of the situation. Sex is something that is uncontrollable, and that is why I am terrified of it. Because it makes me vulnerable.

"Tris, do you trust me?" Tobias asks, pulling me back to real life.

"What?" I ask, still slightly dizzy from my epiphany.

"I said, do you trust me?" he asks again, intently waiting for my answer.

I feel confused. "Yes, of course. Tobias what does that – "

He kisses me.

His hands lock around my waist, holding me tightly, as his lips devour mine with a fierce passion. And unlike before, I know this is real. This isn't another simulation version of him kissing me.

Because although his lips are fierce against mine, they are also gentle in a way that can only be his, and the way he holds me is also unmistakably his. This is the real Tobias that I am kissing.

And I know what he is trying to do.

So I go with the flow.

His tongue gently caresses my bottom lip, asking for entrance and I willingly give it to him. This is something new to me; something that he hasn't done before. And it doesn't feel scary or wrong.

It feels strange and exciting, full of heat and passion and hormones.

His hand, previously around my waist, now move slightly higher. I lean up on my toes to kiss him and I feel his hands on the bare skin of my lower back. It sends a shiver through my body.

We're moving back until – for the second time today – I find myself pinned on the bed. But this time it's different. This time I'm a willing participant. Tobias holds himself above me using his arms and I notice that his shirt has been flung away.

His eyes are bright, alive as he looks into mine and a smile makes its way onto my lips as I notice that I can't see simulation Tobias any longer. I have made it past the fear.

"I think we can stop now," I whisper. "I don't think I'd want anyone to walk past and see us on the floor like this. We'd never live it down."

Tobias looks almost disappointed. "I don't want to stop."

"I don't want to, either," I tell him. "But you know we have to."

Tobias stands up and I follow, letting him pull me to my feet. A wicked idea strikes me and I lean into whisper in his ear. "You know, I said we have to stop now. But we can always continue later."

The look on his face is all the answer I need.

_Whew! Done! _


End file.
